2021-10-03 Letter to the Church in Smyrna 10am Service

hello good morning everyone very special greetings to you on the lord's day well we lost one hour but i'm very happy to trade in for extra one hour of daylight for the next six months so i hope you're well and you're strong and this morning as we come to the [Music] worship the lord together i just have a very quick few announcements to make the first one is we are having holy communion this morning so if you have not prepared any element yet you may please do so in the next five minutes and then later on we'll come together for communion secondly remember we have virtual morning tea after the service today come and join us we haven't seen each other for about eight to nine weeks it'll be good to see some of you those who are not regular hop on we just have a two segment of 15 minutes each breaking into various groups so come and join us this morning after the service and the third announcement is we are going through this i believe all of you should have this book we meet every sunday at 9 00 a.m in the morning so come and join us it doesn't matter if you want to pray in a crowd in a group but come and join us be silent before the lord and even just agreeing with someone's prayer and today we actually just this morning we prayed for the third chapters during this time of in a global crisis we pray praying for wisdom when i am uncertain and the text is taken from proverbs 3 verses 1 to 12 praying for wisdom when i'm uncertain so i want to read through these 12 verses and then i want to take this opportunity to pray together and then later on we'll have communion proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 to 12. if you have a bible please turn to it proverbs 3 1-12 my son do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart [Music] for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity let love and faithfulness never leave you by them around your neck write them on the tablet of your heart [Music] and then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of god amen trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight do not be wise in your own eyes fear the lord and shun evil this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones honor the lord with your wealth with the first fruits of all your crops and then your bonds will be filled to overflowing and your vets will brim over with new wine my son do not despise the lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuild because the lord disciplines those he loves as a father the son he delights in will you join me in prayer heavenly father thank you for this morning another day that you given to us as a gift for today we thank you that we are able to rise up we're able to sleep we're able to uh hear to feel to see to attend service lord thank you for all your blessings and as a church we want to together unite our hearts and soul and mind to pray together for this global crisis that is experiencing all over the world everybody is experiencing this particular issue and so we want to pray together and today we want to pray that during this uncertain time you give us wisdom uh to know what to do when we are uncertain lord help us to remember your word help us to always trust in you help us to always walk in your paths and even in the midst of uncertainty help us to honor you with our finance and help us to discern your disciplines lord this is a new day late opened and here we are waiting to step into it and yet at the same time we have this feeling of uncertainty and for some even fear of what it holds fear of what it will demand of us lord do we have any resources to meet this day these challenges ahead of us can we enter into it with joy and certainty and contentment thank you lord that this is the day that you have made and you have asked us to rejoice and be glad in it so help us to accept this day gladly help us to dance into it and carry with us the joy of resurrection the peace of self-giving the love that forgives and gives help us to delight in this day help us to absorb it revel in it for it is today a new new day the day that you have made the day that you ask us to rejoice and be glad in it help us never to fear of uncertainty when we believe in you we we have certainty and that is sufficient doesn't matter what circumstances situation that we may be in we worship a certain god you are sovereign you are good god you are loving god you are gracious merciful compassionate god and you are alpha omega you know our future you everything is safely secured in your hand and we trust in you we worship you we love you we thank you and we ask all this in jesus name amen i want to invite you to sing a song and after the song we will share communion together and i think an appropriate song for this week as we celebrate communion is how deep the father's love for us [Music] how deep the father's love for us how vast beyond all measure that he should give his only son to make wretch his treasure how great the pain of searing was the father turns his face away as wounds was more the chosen one bring many sons to glory [Music] behold the man upon the cross my sin upon his shoulders ashamed i hear my marking voice call out among the scarfers it was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished his dying breath has brought me life know that it is finished [Music] i will not boast in anything no gifts no power no wisdom [Music] but i will boast in jesus christ his death and resurrection [Applause] [Music] why should i gain from his dream i cannot give an answer but this i know with all my heart [Music] [Music] but this i know with all my heart his wounds have paid my ransom [Music] jesus done for us on the cross one of the top 10 christian books of all time is definitely a book written in the 14th century thomas campus the imitation of christ if you've never heard of this book it's a devotional book i hope you can grab hold of it and read it it is such an amazing book thomas campus the imitation of christ and i just want to read to you a quote in there before i lead you into the time of communion thomas campis in the books the imitation of christ says this you must turn to him the lord with all your heart if your soul is defined rest christ is ready to come to you with what kindness in his glance but you must make room deep in your heart to entertain him as he deserves when he finds someone whose thoughts go deep he is a frequent visitor with such pleasant converse with such welcome words of comfort such deep repose such intimate friendship a well-known past belief up with you dance faithful soul get your heart ready for the coming of this true lover you must make room for christ and shut the door upon all intruders you must make room for christ and shut the door upon all intruders if you are to experience the fullness of what it means to really live for christ why don't we just pause for a few moments in silence as we come prepare before the lord heavenly father thank you for this morning that we can share the communion we want to look at the cross we want to be reminded of jesus christ and his love for us help us like what thomas can peace say to make room for you and we must make every effort to shut the door upon all intruders jesus on the night he was betrayed he took bread and after he had given thanks he broke it and he said this is my body broken for you eat of it in remembrance of me in the same manner after supper he took the cup said this is the blood this is my blood shed for the forgiveness of sin drink of it in remembrance of me whenever you eat of this bread whenever you drink of this cup you not only proclaim the lord's death on the cross but you are waiting for his return in the future let's eat of this bread together this is my blood drink of it in remembrance of him let's drink of it let us pray lord i look at the broken body and the polar wine blood for us [Music] you offer your body for us [Music] help us as we look at the cross and be reminded of your love be reminded of what it means to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to you thank you lord thank you we ask for your blessing on each of our lives as we continue to devote our lives for your service we ask all this in jesus name amen well i'm going to pass this time over to pastor caroline as she brings the second sermon on the book of revelation well good morning everyone i'm going to begin with some very familiar words i'm sure you will all remember or know these words to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse for richer or for poorer in sickness and in health to love and to cherish forsaking all others until death do us part perhaps those of you who are married may have used those vows or a different version of them in your own wedding and i'm sure that those of you who have had long and enduring marriages will attest that on the day that you took those vows you had absolutely no idea how life would turn out for you no doubt you had your hopes and your dreams and no doubt as most young couples do you anticipated a happily ever after but none of us knows how much of the better we will get compared to the worse none of us can predict whether we will be richer or poorer nor can we foresee what health battles might lie ahead you know when my eldest daughter was about three years old disney pixar released an animated movie called up some of you might have seen it she and i watched that movie more than a few times whenever i was feeling exhausted when her brothers were at school we would put on that movie and watch it together and she would laugh at me as i would never fail to cry in the opening scene of that movie and in preparing for this morning i looked up the opening scene of of that movie up online and i rewatched it again to refresh my memory and guess what 12 years later that opening scene can still make me cry which is pretty amazing really given that it's an animated movie and i know that i'm not the only one who loves that opening scene when the movie first came out the guardian described that opening scene as remarkable brilliant and a master class in narrative exposition the telegraph described it as one of the most extraordinary openings to a film while another reviewer wrote honestly that it left him a weeping husk of a man the opening scene is a montage of married life the scene opens with the joy of the wedding day of young adventurous joyful ellie and her slightly more reserved husband carl they are a young couple very much in love and as the camera pans across the scenes of their life we progress to the excitement of moving in and then renovating their first home day trips to their favorite picnic spot as they daydream and share their hopes for the future then there's the anticipation and expectation of family life as the montage pans across the scene of them preparing a new room for a new baby but the camera pans on from this scene and the next one is of heartbreak in a doctor's office no words at all are spoken in any of this opening montage but it's obvious that their plans for a family will not be fulfilled the montage moves on to scenes of day-to-day life going out to work coming home again and their dreams of adventure to one day visit paradise falls together and they start a savings jar to save up for their big uh dream trip but then time and time again the circumstances of life caused this jar to be smashed and the money used to repair the car to pay for hospital bills and to put a new a roof on the house when a tree unexpectedly falls through the roof the couple grow happily old together and one day carl looks over at his wife who's hunched over sweeping the floor and she's old and gray and he remembers their dreams and he takes down that money jar from the shelf long forgotten and he goes and purchases two tickets to venezuela intending to surprise his wife and take her on that trip to paradise falls but he's too late his beloved ellie has become ill and she dies before their dream can be fulfilled and i can remember that my daughter used to always say mum why are you crying and it was a very difficult thing to explain to a three-year-old because she assumed that i was crying because the wife died and certainly it is sad that the wife died before their dreams could be fulfilled but i started crying long before that point and it wasn't really that i was crying over any kind of sadness at all what makes me cry in that movie in that opening scene is that life did not turn out at all for them as they had imagined it life was not a bed of roses and yet they prevailed parts of their life were extremely painful parts of their life were just plain mundane and ultimately their dream of adventure was not fulfilled and yet they remained faithful to one another faithful unto death and the church that we're going to hear about today this church in smyrna was called to do likewise in their relationship with the lord this little letter to the church in smyrna spans only four verses it's the shortest of all seven of the letters to the churches in revelation and it is one of only two letters that contains no criticism and no rebuke what a wonderful thing it would be for any church to receive a letter from jesus and how much more wonderful to find that it contained not a single criticism or rebuke smyrna must have been quite a church let's have a little look at what jesus has to say to this church would you turn with me to revelation chapter 2 and just 4 verses verses 8 to 11. to the angel of the church in smyrna write these are the words of him who is the first and the last who died and came to life again i know your afflictions and your poverty yet you are rich i know about the slander of those who say that they are jews and are not but are a synagogue of satan do not be afraid of what you're about to suffer i tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer persecution for 10 days be faithful even to the point of death and i will give you life as your victor's crown whoever has ears let him hear what the spirit says to the churches the one who is victorious will not be heard at all by the second death now there are many subtleties in this little letter that makes it just come alive for the people of smyrna those four little verses spoke volumes but to us they seem a little blunt the original audience understood exactly what jesus was saying because he was speaking into their reality and we need to work a little bit harder to unearth some of those subtleties that will allow this letter to speak to us like i'm sure it spoke to them verse 8 begins to the angel of the church in smyrna right and normally we'd rush on and keep reading past this point but today we're going to linger there because what's offered there is like someone putting on a pair of prescription glasses someone with poor vision putting on a pair of prescription glasses for the first time understanding what's offered in the first half of verse 8 opens up the depth and the fullness of this whole letter which is otherwise a bit beyond our ability to perceive understanding that first half of verse 8 is like the difference between seeing in black and white and in full colour to the angel of the church in smyrna right it doesn't seem like there's much to go on there just a title or an opening line much like we would begin a letter dear john well more often than not in the bible names are important they carry meaning and so whenever you come across a name particularly if it's highlighted like this one is you will always do well to find out what that name means and as we move through these letters to the seven churches we will see that many of them have highly significant names or highly instructive names that really help us with the clarity and perception of our reading these letters name smyrna is derived from myrrh and myrrh was a small shrubby tree that grew abundantly in the region and it produced a bitter gum and so this word is associated with bitterness verse 8 could just as well read to the angel of the church in bitterness and all of a sudden right there black and white becomes full color suddenly we have quite a picture of the circumstances that this church found themselves in life for them wasn't just a bit difficult or occasionally unpleasant physically their circumstances were bitter now most of us have heard of myrrh not as a shrubby tree but as the product of that shrubby tree by the same name which was brought by the wise man as a gift to baby jesus and those of you who have sat through enough christmas sermons in your lifetime will probably be aware of its association with death myrrh was used as a spice for embalming bodies and it was nicodemus who used myrrh to prepare christ's body for burial you'll read that in john 19 39 so the name of this church gives us a very big hint as to what they were going through and what the reality of their future might look like for them the ancient city of smyrna was located about 60 kilometers north of ephesus in that part of asia which is modern-day turkey smyrna was a wealthy port city it had fertile soils and an excellent climate it was a center for science and medicine it was well regarded for its fine wines beautiful streets and buildings and its wealth smyrna had a stadium where the games were held it had a library and it had one of the largest theaters in asia minor among all the ancient writers smyrna was renowned for its beauty it was known as the flower of asia or the crown of asia because it was built around the base and the lower slopes and summit of mount pegus such that the mountain with its beautiful buildings around it looked like a giant crowned head smyrna owed much of that beauty to the fact that unlike other cities that kind of grew haphazardly as the population grew smyrna was a planned city in 334 bc alexander the great seized what remained of what was once a thriving town said to be the birthplace of the poet homer and the location for the writing of his iliad successive invasions and the passing of time had rendered it little more than a collection of unimportant villages legend has it that after seizing the town in a dream alexander was advised to move the city three miles to the south to mount pegus and he made plans to do just that eventually after its construction the residents moved to this new planned city it had wide streets paved with stones made into beautiful patterns and it had many many beautiful temples dedicated to the whole pantheon of roman gods and goddesses that were worshipped there there was even a street that was paved in gold that is said to have run from east to west around the lower slopes of mount pagus from the temple of zeus to the temple of sibel smyrna was a free and self-governing city and it was known for its intense loyalty to rome on one occasion hearing of roman soldiers cold and hungry on the battlefield the residents of smyrna were said to have even stripped the very clothes off their own backs and gathered them together with whatever food they could find to send it to the battlefield in support of rome so strong was their reverence for rome that in 195 bc smyrna became the first city in the world to erect a temple to the goddess roma this temple was for the worship of the spirit of rome then sometime later in 26 a.d smyrna defeated all the other cities of asia minor including ephesus for the privilege of erecting a temple to the godhead of the emperor tiberius such was their renown for their loyalty to rome now initially emperor worship was little more than just a means of demonstrating gratitude to rome but towards the latter part of the first century during the reign of domitian emperor worship became compulsory and the residents of smyrna adopted it wholeheartedly every year every person would have to burn a small amount of incense and publicly declare caesar is lord those that did this received a certificate and had little trouble getting a job for those that didn't life was going to be difficult they could expect severe punishment sometimes even death work was going to be hard to come by forget starting a small business not only would selling be difficult buying anything was also going to be a problem so smyrna was a beautiful wealthy ancient city full of temples to just about every pagan god that you can think of in addition they were also worshiping rome itself and they were fully immersed in this emperor cult of worshiping the emperor and in the midst of all this the jews had a synagogue and a struggling christian community existed now the jews have been granted exemption from emperor worship by rome but there were no such favors for the christians who found themselves persecuted by the pagans and also persecuted by the jews the christians were accused of being enemies of rome rome because they've refused to say caesar is lord each year the christians were also blamed for any natural disaster or mishap that would befall the city because people reasoned that in not worshiping all of these gods they were inciting them to bring their wrath upon the city the christians were hated because their beliefs and practices divided families the pagans deemed the christians agape feasts to be orgies and together with the jews they viewed the christian observance of communion as akin to cannibalism this was a church that was facing some seriously troubling times spiritually they were doing well jesus finds no need to rebuke or criticize them but physically their lives were bitter this was a church for whom death was a very real possibility and so jesus's first words to them are very reassuring i was dead but i came back to life again he shows them that death is not the last word and he knows this because he himself overcame death to rise to life and living in a beautiful city that was once effectively dead having been all but destroyed by the lydians around 600 bc and then raised to life through this rebuilding i don't think this comment would have been wasted on the christians in smyrna the next thing jesus says to them is i know and this little phrase is found in each of the letters i know i know your deeds i know your afflictions i know your circumstances i know your reputation i know i know i know we'll see it time and time again as we progress through these letters the one who walks among the seven lampstands among his churches he knows each one i have to wonder what does he know about us in the case of smyrna he knew their afflictions and their poverty and yet he tells them that in spite of their poverty they are rich beyond imagining in the darkness of smyrna this church was a shining light this church was not content to give a little bit here and give a little bit there and to watch as bit by bit their faith was eroded and absorbed into the culture around them he knows because he too had suffered the slander of those who say they are jews but are not he too had been persecuted by temple and synagogue he'd been arrested he'd been flogged he'd been falsely accused he'd been rejected by his own and ultimately he'd been put to death he knew what they were suffering and the word that is translated here as afflictions literally means pressure it was used to refer to the crushing weight of a big grinding stone grinding down grain their allegiance to jesus was causing this intense crushing pressure to be brought down upon them life was not just a little bit difficult for them it was intensely difficult and in much the same way that crushing myrrh produces its rich fragrance this crushing of the church in smyrna caused by that intense crushing weight of the persecution that they were facing was producing in them a spiritual richness there are two greek words that can be used to describe poverty one of those words means that you're just sort of scraping by you know you're living hand to mouth you're not starving but you certainly don't have much in excess in english we might describe this as being poor that's not the word that's used here to describe poverty in smyrna the word that we might use in english to describe what is being talked about here is destitute it's more than just going without occasionally it's closer to starvation and homelessness the christians in smyrna were often unable to work or trade because of their refusal to worship caesar and so they didn't have the required certificate can you imagine what it must have been like to live in this beautiful wealthy city with its beautiful wide streets to walk down that golden street looking about you at all of the beautiful temples and buildings and yet to know that your own children at home are going hungry because of your faith in jesus can you imagine the temptation to simply give in and make your annual declaration of loyalty to caesar and yet these dear ones did not and all over the world even today there are christians enduring empty stomachs being dragged from their homes being beaten imprisoned tortured and killed because they too refuse to renounce jesus to them jesus says i know i know your afflictions and your poverty and yet you are rich what would he say to us what would a little crushing pressure do to us would it produce from us a rich fragrance of devotion or the rotten stink of apostasy jesus knew their afflictions he knew their poverty and he knew the slander of those who say they are jews but are not now we don't know exactly who this group was paul writes in his letter to the church in rome these words a man is not a jew if he is only one outwardly nor is circumcision merely outward and physical no a man is a jew if he is one inwardly and circumcision is circumcision of the heart by the spirit not by the written code such a man's praise is not from men but from god and we can't know completely to whom this comment of jesus was directed such men could have perhaps been the judaizers who sought to impose circumcision as a requirement on christian salvation in the early church but perhaps the term is applied more broadly to those who only trace their lineage back to abraham but who lacked faith we don't know what we do know is this jews who were not jews were in league with satan and participating in the persecution of smyrna's and this bitterness between jew and christian at the time in smyrna is most most famously left its mark on early church history in the martyrdom of polycarp the bishop of the church in smyrna now this happened around 1 55 a.d so that's approximately 60 or so years later than this book of revelation but no doubt that sort of animosity took time to build up the jews and the pagans at the time are said to have formed a large mob crying out about polycarp this is the teacher of asia the father of the christians and the overthrower of our gods he who has been teaching many not to sacrifice or to worship the gods and the jews are said to have eagerly gone to gather the firewood to burn polycarp the magistrate not wanting to see the old man die said to him what harm is there in saying lord caesar but polycarp refused and was taken to the stadium to be executed there several more attempts were made to change his mind swear by the fortune of caesar repent and say away with the atheists in that case the atheists being those who did not worship the gods of rome do you know what the 86 year old bishop did he fixed his gaze on that crowd that had gathered in the stadium to witness the execution of the christians and he waved his arms at them and he said away were the atheists the magistrate again tried to get old polycarp to renounce his faith swear and i will set thee at liberty repo reproach christ this time the old man replied with these now well known words eighty and six years have i served him and he never did me any injury how then can i blaspheme my king and my savior the guards readied themselves to nail polycarp to the post in the middle of the big pile of wood that had been gathered but polycarp assured them that god who would strengthen him to endure the fire would also enable him to remain there without the need for any nails so polycarp the bishop of smyrna stood there while the flames burned around him and the only sounds heard from him were said to be the sounds of prayer and rejoicing in jesus he prayed this prayer o lord almighty god the father of your beloved son jesus christ through whom we have come to know you i thank you for counting me worthy this day and hour of sharing the cup of christ among the number of your martyrs these were deep seated feelings that had built up over a long period of time and polycarp would not be the only martyr in smyrna he might have been the best known of them but there were many many others the next words of jesus to the church in smyrna are do not be afraid do not be afraid of what you're about to suffer i tell you the devil will put some of you in prison to test you and you will suffer persecution for 10 days notice what jesus doesn't say he doesn't say don't be afraid for i'll make everything better he doesn't say don't be afraid because i'm going to destroy everyone who comes against you he doesn't say don't be afraid i'll take away all of your suffering he effectively says don't be afraid it's going to get worse it's not really the type of thing most of us would want to hear from jesus more often than not our prayers are filled with requests for our suffering for our comparatively minor trials to be taken away rather than prayer for spiritual power to prevail through them not only did jesus know of their afflictions and their poverty and the slander against them but he also knew that what they were going through was going to get much worse but that their suffering would be limited to 10 days now again what 10 days refers to we can't be sure based on john's repeated use of the old testament many say that it's drawn from the book of daniel and refers to an indefinite time of testing which in daniel's case was 10 days for which he and his comrades were allowed to eat vegetables and drink water rather than the king's rich food to avoid compromising the dietary laws given to them through moses others say it might be an actual historical reference to a time of imprisonment or a period of very intense suffering it may have been representative of a historical change for example the time between the assassination of the emperor domitian and the decree of the next emperor which brought an end to his persecution ten days may also be symbolic since symbolism is widely used in apocalyptic literature three and seven are both known as numbers which represent completion and perfection in the bible and so the sum of these two numbers being 10 might possibly represent the completeness of their time of suffering 10 could also have a broader prophetic meaning some have suggested the 10 persecutions of the early church under the various roman emperors whatever 10 refers to it implies that their suffering and their time of testing will be finite it will have an end be faithful says jesus even to the point of death he was and now they were being called to follow his example you might remember in the account of the crucifixion of jesus which is recorded in the gospel of mark mark 15 23 when jesus arrives at golgotha he's offered wine mixed with of all things mer and from the talmud we learned that this mixture was used to deaden pain mark's gospel records that jesus rejected it his sacrifice on the cross was made without such compromise when jesus says i know to the church in smyrna he knows he knows because he's been there when jesus says be faithful even to the point of death we know that he has already set the supreme example of just what that means he refused to compromise so did old polycarp and so have many thousands after them be faithful even to the point of death and i will give you the crown of life now read literally that statement would be be faithful even to the point of death and i will give you the crown of the life because there's an article in there death in that statement is just death everyone experiences it but life is the life it's eternal life and it's reserved only for those who are faithful unto death the residents of smyrna were proud that their city had been brought back to life and that it had been rebuilt in all of its splendor they were proud that it was known as the crown of asia to them the one who introduced himself as him who died and came back to life again he promises something far better than a rebuilt city and a crown far more valuable than simply the crown of asia to them is promised eternal life and the word used here for crown is not the type of crown that a king or queen would wear it describes the wreath that would be placed on the head of a victor in the games that were held in that great city and the same word is used to describe the festive garland that would be worn at a banquet by all the guests those who are victorious who remain faithful unto death will partake in the wedding feast of the lamb and they will receive the crown of life which is eternal life they will not be heard at all by the second death that lake of fire described later in revelation chapter 20. well what an example this church whose name means myrrh is to us we who live in luxury and yet are so easily prone to grumble circumstances of their lives were bitter they were being crushed by the weight of persecution they were slandered for their faith they lived in poverty but in the eyes of jesus whose eyes are the only one that matters they were rich this was a church for which jesus has no words of rebuke because they were living as a people who were set apart for god they had dedicated themselves to his service at great personal cost do you know that when the tabernacle and all of its various articles and utensils the ark and even the priests who would serve in the tabernacle when they were set apart for god's holy service god instructed moses to anoint them with a sacred oil can you guess what the primary ingredient was in that oil it was myrrh exodus 30 22. and when esther and all of the other girls went through their 12 months of preparation to meet king xerxes can you guess what oil was used to purify them for the first six months of their time of preparation it was the oil of myrrh esther 2 verse 12. in their name in just one word you can trace the story of this church they were the church of mer the bitterness of myrrh speaks of their life circumstances bitter and hard myrrh reminds us that they were a people set apart from the darkness in which they lived for god just like those items and priests in the tabernacle were by the anointing of that oil containing myrrh myrrh reminds us that they lived and died without compromise just as jesus did in refusing the wine mixed with myrrh to ease his pain at the cross and from its use as a spice for preparing the dead for burial myrrh reminds us that for many of them their faithfulness would indeed result in their death from its use in the book of esther as an agent of purification and preparation myrrh reminds us that their time on earth just as ours is only a preparation to meet the king of kings and receive the crown of life faithfulness unto death isn't that what every married couple intends on their wedding day and isn't that what jesus intends for his relationship with each one of us collectively his church he is faithful to his covenant promises and we must be too no compromise no quitting when the going gets tough when the bridegroom comes to claim his bride and take her to the father's house we all want to be taken to that marriage supper of the lamb be faithful says jesus even to the point of death and i will give you the crown of life what a beautiful letter and what a brave and faithful church if you are struggling in bitter circumstances perhaps you might be the only believer in your family perhaps the circumstances of life for you are tough perhaps you've been slandered for your faith perhaps you're being tempted to unfaithfulness if the bitterness of your circumstances feel like a crushing weight upon you then let the words of jesus encourage you today i was dead and came back to life again i know do not be afraid be faithful even to the point of death and i will give you the crown of life and if that is not your experience right now then let this little letter remind you that all over the world there are countless churches just like this one we've just read about suffering even to the point of death for their faith in jesus one day we will share with them at the wedding feast of the lamb and until that day as their brothers and sisters in christ we must pray for them will you join me in prayer now thank you father god that you are always faithful you always keep your promises forgive us father for our weaknesses forgive us when we have compromised forgive us when we have looked beyond you to find our fulfillment elsewhere in people and in things forgive us when the praises of people have meant more to us than the honor of our god we thank you for your word to this brave and faithful church in smyrna help us to remember your words to them when the circumstances of our own life become bitter thank you that your word endures and is the same today father we pray for those who are struggling under the crushing weight of persecution empower them by your spirit to overcome we pray have mercy on them amen now on to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we could think or ask according to the power at work within us to him be the glory for ever and ever amen don't forget to grab a cup of coffee or something to eat and log in to zoom for a chance to catch up with one another over our virtual morning tea would you join me now in our closing song a song which i think you'll find is fitting for this church in smyrna so poor by the world standards but spiritually so wealthy it was definitely well with their soul how is it with yours [Music] wind peaks like a river attend is my way [Music] whatever my lord thou has taught me to say it is well it is well with my soul it is well with my soul it is well it is [Music] of this glory [Music] but the whole [Music] no more the lord praise the lord o my soul it is well [Music] with my soul [Music] it is well with my soul [Music] and the lord hates the day [Music] the clouds be rolled back as a scroll [Music] the trump shall resound and the lord [Music] it is well with my soul it is well [Music] with my soul [Music] it is well [Music] with my soul it [Music] is well with my soul it is well it is my soul [Music] you

Channel: Pathway Baptist Church

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Id: 0rwfar0zjRw

Length: 61min 25sec (3685 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 02 2021